Convert CAB to TAR

Understanding CAB and TAR file formats

CAB (Cabinet) files are compressed archive files developed by Microsoft, commonly used for software installation packages on Windows. They support lossless data compression and can contain multiple files and folders in a single archive.

TAR (Tape Archive) files are a standard archive format on Unix and Linux systems. Unlike CAB, TAR files do not compress data by default; they simply bundle multiple files and directories into one file for easier distribution or backup.

Why convert CAB to TAR?

Converting a CAB file to a TAR file is useful when transferring archives from a Windows environment to Unix or Linux systems, or when you need compatibility with software that only supports TAR archives.

How to convert CAB to TAR

There is no direct CAB to TAR conversion tool, but you can achieve this in two steps:

1. Extract the contents of the CAB file.
2. Create a new TAR archive from the extracted files.

Recommended software for CAB to TAR conversion

• 7-Zip (Windows):
  • Open 7-Zip and navigate to your CAB file.
  • Right-click the CAB file and select Extract Here to unpack its contents.
  • Select the extracted files, right-click, and choose Add to archive....
  • In the archive format dropdown, select tar and click OK.
• PeaZip (Windows, Linux):
  • Open PeaZip and extract the CAB file.
  • Select the extracted files and use Add to create a TAR archive.
• Command line (Linux):
  • Install cabextract if not already installed: sudo apt-get install cabextract
  • Extract CAB: cabextract yourfile.cab
  • Create TAR: tar -cvf archive.tar extracted_files/

Summary

While there is no one-step CAB to TAR converter, using tools like 7-Zip, PeaZip, or command-line utilities allows you to extract CAB files and repackage them as TAR archives for cross-platform compatibility.